liverpool plays host to ukraine's celebration of lgbt rights. hello, welcome to the programme. the eu has suspended all security cooperation with niger after the country's army took power in a coup. it comes shortly after the us declared its "unflagging support" for ousted president mohamed bazoum — seen as a key western ally in the fight against islamist militants. on friday, the head of the presidential guards unit general abdorah—manny tchiani declared himself niger's new leader. he said insecurity, economic woes and corruption led him to seize power. but there are now concerns in the west about which countries the new leader will align with. niger's neighbours, burkina faso and mali, have both pivoted towards russia since their own coups.

chris ewokor in nigeria has the details for us. there have been some it's looked like a lot of pressure being piled on the coup leaders in nigeria this evening. we're hearing that france has also suspended financial and other aides to niger with immediate effect. and this is as a result of the coup and political development in that country. and it's also similar to the eu's position. the eu has suspended aid, both financial and military aid. the united states secretary of state, antony blinken, had earlier threatened that the country risked also having millions of dollars in aid be suspended because of the coup. and the strongest reaction yet we've gotten is from the african union, which had given the military

in niger 15 days maximum to return to the barracks and restore constitutional democracy. they have also called for the immediate release of president bazoum, who at the moment we know are still being held by the military. and just in terms of the western aid and the threats to withhold it, the country is really quite dependent, isn't it, on western aid? clearly nigeria is one of the poorest states or one of the poorest countries in the world. despite that, it's the seventh largest producer of uranium. it's dependent mainly on aids, humanitarian aids, financial aids and security and support from the west and has been the major hub for the west and the fight againstjihadist extremism, especially within the subregion.

after mali and burkina faso severed ties with the west, so this many believe could actually affect the population because the united nations already said that four million people in that country are in dire need of aid. and how about the country as a whole? how are things functioning? because the coup leaders have dissolved the state institutions, haven't they? well, yes, on friday, general abdourahmane tchianiy, had actually presented himself as the leader. he held meetings later on on friday with senior civil servants and urged them to continue to work. but he has also gotten the support of the larger military in niger, as well as a lot of people had come

out to show their support on thursday demonstrating, waving the niger flag, as well as the russian flag and even chanting anti—western slogans. they had also urged that russia intervene. but it is not clear if this has anything to do, with if there is any kind of external interference in this coup, especially pointing towards the russian direction. let's show you some live pictures coming in from tel aviv in israel. protests are taking place across israel against the government's planned judicial overhaul for the thirtieth week in a row. it's the first saturday of mass demonstrations since the first bill in the overhaul was passed by the israeli parliament earlier this week. the new law limits the supreme court's ability to nullify legislation it deems unreasonable. on friday, the israeli media reported that military intelligence officials had warned the prime minister benjamin netanyahu that israel's enemies

viewed the current crisis as a historic weak point that could be exploited. some big news in the world of cricket. england cricketer stuart broad has announced that he will retire after the conclusion of the fifth ashes test at the oval. the 37-year-old _ fifth ashes test at the oval. the 37—year—old bowler has taken many wickets in 176 tests. he has taken 20 wickets in the series and has admitted his own surprise at being fit to play in all five tests, which have been played injust six weeks. abroad made his debut against sri lanka back in december of 2007 and last week becamejust lanka back in december of 2007 and last week became just the second placed bowler to take 600 test wickets. we will have plenty more on that later on. here in the uk, rail passengers have faced a day of disruption, as up to 20,000 members of the rmt union, stage another

strike over pay, jobs and working conditions. around half of services are thought to have been affected. our business correspondent, hannah miller, has more from leeds in the north of england. with almost half of train services across the country ground to a halt for the second saturday in a row, at this coffee shop in leeds it is grinding down their business, too. james says customer numbers fall every time there's a strike. i sympathise with the workers because you're going to take a day's pay lost then they're not going to be striking for nothing, but it's extremely difficult for businesses like ours. it's a complete disaster for us. you know, my staff still need paying, the suppliers still need paying. you know, it's really, really tough and i just wish they could get round the table and fix it. but the government and train operators insist that their proposals, rejected by this union backing the spring, are fair. we've been negotiating with the leadership of the rmt for over a year now, and it's a real shame that the offer

that we made to them, worth 13% in terms of an increase in pay for the lowest paid, is not being put to their membership, which would have brought this industrial dispute to an end. but the unions say it's about more than pay. the government is in control of what the train operating l companies say to us and even when they speak to us, - they're not allowing them to come i back to the table with revisions i to their proposals. we are available to do that . but at the moment we've got a situation where cuts are being imposed. i 2,300 job cuts. every booking office _ in the country is going to close. and after more than a year of strike action, passengers arriving for a night out in leeds have got used to finding ways around it. i understand why they do it but i also think it's inconvenient to everyone, people who need to get to work and people who need to go out. the last couple of weeks, actually, quite a few of myjourneys have been affected by train strikes. i work quite a bit down in london, so having to change plans, change meetings and stuff like that. it was annoying in the beginning but now you're make the plans, |

plan ahead and accept. it is becoming life, _ becoming a normal part of life. today was the last day of industrial action in the diary for the rmt but the drivers union, aslef, has two more overtime bans in the coming weeks and the two sides in this argument still have a long way to travel before this dispute comes to an end. i spoke to hannah earlier and asked about the impact that the rail tracks are having on the hospitality industry. absolutely. yes. and here at leeds, this station, there are no more trains leaving here tonight. the last one has already left. there is a couple more still to come in, but that really isn't good news, as you heard there, for bars and restaurants that would normally rely on people coming in here, perhaps going out then for a drink or two and then heading back on the train. the station has really noticeably quietened down in the last hour or so. we've even seen a few people running in there and then realising

that there are no more trains to go. of course, the disruption today does impact passengers, but when you speak to many people, a lot of what they say is that theyjust kind of wish that it would get sorted out. there's not an awful lot of blame being cast around when we ask people how they feel about it. and as you heard that, you know, this has been going on for more than a year now. people have got used to making other arrangements. well, what is the likelihood of it being sorted out any time soon? i mean, there are no signs of movement on this at the moment. the government clearly feel that the offer that was put forward by the train companies was fair and therefore they don't see a need or want to move any further from that. clearly, we've heard recently about plans and proposals and a consultation on closing ticket offices across the country, and the unions now point to that as yet another thing that they see as threatening

their job security. so the unions very much in this position of saying it is about more than pay for them. it's about how they don't want to see compulsory redundancies and job losses in the long run. the government clearly feel like there is a need for reform and they are telling the train operating companies they're giving them a mandate which says some things they feel need to change as things stand at the moment. as i say, this has been going on for more than a year and there isn't a huge amount of sign of any progress at the moment. environmental groups claiming to represent twenty million people have written to the british prime minister, warning they will "not stand by" if the government waters down its commitments on tackling climate change. ministers have faced calls to reconsider their green pledges, in the hope it could boost the conservatives' chances at the next election. the party's narrow victory in last week's uxbridge and south ruislip by—election has been linked to local opposition to the expansion of

london's ultra low emissions zone. the letter calls for "courage and leadership", and says the environment should not be treated "as a political football". here's our political correspondent, damian grammaticas. he told me more about how ulez led to the labour party's loss in the uxbridge by—election. this seat on the edge of london used to be borisjohnson�*s seat. when he resigned and left parliament, that seat came up. it had been a tory seat for quite some time. labour were hopeful that they could take it but they fell just short. and the issue, as you say at the heart of that campaign, which the conservative party made much of, was this plan by the labour mayor of london, sadiq khan, to expand the charging zone for polluting cars, old polluting vehicles to the edge of london, which would have just taken in that constituency, would have faced people

in the constituency with old cars, could face a cost of £12.50, a month, basically, a day to drive their cars. and that was credited with tipping it in the wake of that, as you say, pressure or calls from the right wing of the conservative party and rishi sunak to water down climate policies as a potential vote win. and now what we have is the sort of backlash to that, if you like. so these environmental groups, you say some of the biggest in the country, the national trust, the royal society, protection of birds, the woodland trust, they say between them they have 20 million members. they say they've mobilised those members in the past. and on what they call a critical policy area, they say they are alarmed at reports that the government might be looking at watering down environmental policies. so they say that should not happen and they want an urgent meeting with rishi sunak to get him to

publicly commit to those policies. now, mr sunak, interestingly, this week has said on that charging emission charging zone, which actually is to do with air quality, it's not to do with climate emissions or carbon emissions. he's said he doesn't think that should be expanded. but elsewhere on climate policies, he says there should be a pragmatic approach and he has faced criticism recently from his own side. so one minister, former minister resigned. zac goldsmith resigned, saying that there had been a lack of leadership on climate issues under mr sunak. but mr sunak�*s government is saying that they have no current plans to water down climate targets. they should just be a pragmatic approach. the balancing act, which is required both here and for countries around the world, is the cost of living crisis and balancing that with the need to tackle climate change. but it's asking people to pay for it. that's the issue, isn't it, that people are getting upset about it? and labour themselves have

been criticised recently for a bit of a u—turn on their climate change policies, haven't they? yes, exactly. so this is the sort of balance that the parties are facing in the current or trying to find and work out where they want to pitch their electoral sort of appeal. their electoral prospectus to parties were coming up for an election in what, in the next 18 months here in the uk. it's part of the reason why this is sort of becoming more central. and we have this backdrop of high inflation, cost of living pressures on people. the labour party has a policy, it's been pledging a sort of green revolution. they've been talking about pumping £28 billion a year into the economy to stimulate green low carbon jobs, low carbon electricity generation. but what it did is then said, well, that wouldn't happen from the very beginning. if it won power, it would be phased in, criticised for doing a u—turn there. the government has many of its own policies, such as phasing out

all petrol and diesel engines or solely petrol and diesel engines from 2030. that's one particular target, more efficient heating for homes at the same time as well, and being under pressure to water down some of those commitments because of the higher costs that would impose on homeowners and drivers. and all of this is now up for discussion. but these environmental groups saying that it is a core concern for them for many voters when you look at surveys that green policies are kept on the agenda. lets go back now to the news that english cricketer stuart broad is to step down from cricket. filly english cricketer stuart broad is to step down from cricket. olly foster “oint is step down from cricket. olly foster joint is from _ step down from cricket. olly foster joint is from the _ step down from cricket. olly foster joint is from the sport _ step down from cricket. olly foster joint is from the sport studio - step down from cricket. olly foster joint is from the sport studio and l joint is from the sport studio and this is really big news isn't it for england cricket fans? he is really right up there. find england cricket fans? he is really right up there-— right up there. and he has still been right _ right up there. and he has still been right up _ right up there. and he has still been right up there. _ right up there. and he has still been right up there. it - right up there. and he has still been right up there. it has - right up there. and he has stilll been right up there. it has been

right up there. and he has still - been right up there. it has been an absorbing ashes series against australia. the ashes have been retained by australia but we are in the middle of the final test at the oval. england are on top and looking to at least level the series. stuart broad in a series that has taken us by surprise from one day to the next has taken everybody by surprise and i think, with this announcement at the close of play at the oval. that at the end of this final ashes test it will be his last in cricket. he is going to retire from all cricket at the age of 37. cricket is a numbers game, isn't it? if you look at his 602 test wickets. 167 caps. an astonishing pace bowler, a master of seam and swing. and for 17 years, england have enjoyed this tandem pace attack with him and jimmy anderson. jimmy anderson who is three years older than him, but still insists that he will carry on. if anybody was going to retire, it

would bejimmy anderson. but stuart broad in explaining his decision said he only made the decision 2a hours ago. he says he loves ashes cricket and he has a love affair with playing against australia. he wanted his last test to be an ashes test. so we are today free now have the final test against australia. it will be either tomorrow or monday that we say goodbye to stuart broad. the end of an era. onlyjimmy anderson in the all—time test wicket taking rankings is above him. england have been blessed to have these two, but certainly now it will feel like the end of an era that stuart broad at the age of 37 says that after this final ashes test, he will retire from all of cricket. he told them that he decided last night at about 8:30pm and then he told his team—mates, some of them, this morning. a bit of a risk because it might have affected the way they

played. i might have affected the way they -la ed. ~ , might have affected the way they -la ed. ~' , ., , . might have affected the way they .la ed, ~' i. , . ., played. i think they are such a close bond — played. i think they are such a close bond group, _ played. i think they are such a close bond group, this - played. i think they are such a| close bond group, this england played. i think they are such a - close bond group, this england team, ben stokes the captain, the way he has got them all playing, he said he told them all in the changing rooms and i am sure that if anything it would have motivated them even more to make sure that stuart broad goes out on a high. certainly england have had a very good today in their second innings, they are 350 runs ahead, still two days left to play. they are odds—on to win this and level the series. at some point, either tomorrow or monday, stuart broad will have ball in hand. how motivated will he be if he can take perhaps the winning wicket against australia? his finest moment came in 2015 against australia at trent bridge when they were bowled out by lunch. stuart broad taking eight wickets for just 15 runs. lunch. stuart broad taking eight wickets forjust 15 runs. you can still buy the t—shirt. it is his greatest moment. most of his wickets have come against australia. over

150 of those 602 wickets. but when he gets the ball in hand, surely ben stokes will throw him the new ball as they look to seal this final ashes test and let stuart broad go out on the high. i ashes test and let stuart broad go out on the high.— ashes test and let stuart broad go out on the high. i don't know if you can confirm — out on the high. i don't know if you can confirm this _ out on the high. i don't know if you can confirm this or— out on the high. i don't know if you can confirm this or not _ out on the high. i don't know if you can confirm this or not but - out on the high. i don't know if you can confirm this or not but i - out on the high. i don't know if you can confirm this or not but i see i can confirm this or not but i see that he might be going into punditry?— that he might be going into undit ? _ ., , f, that he might be going into undit ? , , ., , ,, ., punditry? very strongly tipped that he will no punditry? very strongly tipped that he will go into _ punditry? very strongly tipped that he will go into punditry. _ punditry? very strongly tipped that he will go into punditry. many - he will go into punditry. many people believe that because of the cricket brain on him he should perhaps go into coaching. being tipsters perhaps the future coach of his old county of nottinghamshire. he says he has loved playing for his county as well, perhaps being involved in england surely somewhere down the line. but when he has done punditry, of course with his knowledge of 17 years in the test arena, that has shone through as well. i am sure he won't be short of work somewhere in the cricket arena. thank you so much for talking to us. nine people, including at least three children, are reported to have been killed — and more than a 100 injured in southern thailand when fireworks

stored in a warehouse were ignited by welders. a large area of the town of sungai golok, on the thai—malaysia we know that at least three of those killed in this incident where children. , , ., ,, children. this is where it happened, in the south — children. this is where it happened, in the south of _ children. this is where it happened, in the south of thailand, _ children. this is where it happened, in the south of thailand, very - children. this is where it happened, in the south of thailand, very close | in the south of thailand, very close to the malaysian border in the town of sungai glock. if we look at some pictures of the aftermath of this incident we can see the level of destruction caused. the impact wasn't confined to the fireworks warehouse. we know that neighbouring buildings were shaken and windows were shattered. roofs collapsed as these pictures show. we actually had from one eyewitness who lives 100 metres from the site and he said that he was at home when he heard a loud thunderous bang and his whole house shook. i saw my roof was wide open, he said. i looked outside and i saw a house collapsing and people

lying on the ground everywhere. it was chaos. now, we understand that a fire has now been contained and the local governor says that it was caused by a technical error in steel welding during construction of the building. but thailand doesn't have a brilliant record when it comes to instances involving fireworks. actually, just five days ago, one woman was killed and ten others were seriously injured in a similar accident in the north of the country. so although this is a particularly tragic case, it is not an isolated one and that is why we are seeing some public pressure on the authorities with regard to safety in the workplace over the last couple of years. president zelensky has been visiting ukrainian special forces near the city of bakhmut, as kyiv continues its counter—offensive. mr zelensky praised the troops for their �*truly heroic�* performance and said he had travelled to meet them to �*honour their strength'. the city has been the scene of some of the fiercest fighting of the war.

a man has died in hospital, after a crash involving an ambulance and a scooter in barnsley. south yorkshire police say the ambulance was responding to an emergency call last night, in hoyland—swaine, when the collision happened. detectives appealing for witnesses. a 14—year—old boy, who was arrested after a seven—year—old girl was killed in a hit—and—run crash in walsall, has been released on bail. katnis selezhneva, died on thusday, after being struck by a motorbike. officers say they've recovered two abandoned bikes, which are now being forensically examined. here in the uk — liverpool has been hosting ukraine's biggest gay pride march, kyiv pride. organisers hope it'll cement the city's links with the country, after hosting this year's eurovision song contest on behalf of ukraine. our correspondent, josh parry has more from merseyside in liverpool. in this rainbow, the yellow and blue take centre stage. thousands of

people, including hundreds of ukrainians, marched through liverpool street as the city played host to kia pride. we liverpool street as the city played host to kia pride.— host to kia pride. we understand that people _ host to kia pride. we understand that people are _ host to kia pride. we understand that people are kind _ host to kia pride. we understand that people are kind of _ host to kia pride. we understand that people are kind of tired - host to kia pride. we understand that people are kind of tired of. host to kia pride. we understand i that people are kind of tired of the war, but you cannot be tired because people are dying on the front line, our friends and loved people are dying on the front line, ourfriends and loved ones, queer people are dying on the front line to protect freedom.— people are dying on the front line to protect freedom. liverpool and ukraine already _ to protect freedom. liverpool and ukraine already have _ to protect freedom. liverpool and ukraine already have a _ to protect freedom. liverpool and ukraine already have a special- ukraine already have a special relationship after the city stepped in to host eurovision song contest in to host eurovision song contest in may. organisers see this match is a chance to continue that legacy. those matching carried messages of support for those on the front line back home. like combat medics burris and alina. are you looking forward to the day that you can both match to the day that you can both match to give a? to the day that you can both match to live a? , to the day that you can both match to civea? , ,, to the day that you can both match touivea? , , , ., to give a? yes, because it will mean the war is over _ to give a? yes, because it will mean the war is over and _ to give a? yes, because it will mean the war is over and we _ to give a? yes, because it will mean the war is over and we can _ to give a? yes, because it will mean the war is over and we can return i to give a? yes, because it will mean the war is over and we can return to | the war is over and we can return to some sort of normality in our lives.

why was it important that liverpool played host to kia pride this year? i think when we stepped into the eurovision— i think when we stepped into the eurovision song contest we found that the _ eurovision song contest we found that the reception that we got from the country about hosting it on behalf — the country about hosting it on behalf of — the country about hosting it on behalf of ukraine was really positive. so planning for pride was going _ positive. so planning for pride was going on— positive. so planning for pride was going on as — positive. so planning for pride was going on as normal anyway, and it was suggested to us that at that point _ was suggested to us that at that point we — was suggested to us that at that point we do a joint pride. the logistics _ point we do a joint pride. the logistics were tricky, but we have managed — logistics were tricky, but we have managed to do it today.— managed to do it today. while eurovision _ managed to do it today. while eurovision song _ managed to do it today. while eurovision song contest - managed to do it today. while eurovision song contest may l managed to do it today. while - eurovision song contest may have united liverpool and ukraine in music, today, pride has united them in protest. josh parry, bbc news, liverpool. taylor swift's concerts in the us city of seattle generated seismic activity equivalent to a 2.3 magnitude earthquake. experts analysed data from her sell—out tour dates last weekend. more than 100 and forty thousand people attended over two nights and it's thought dancing swifties caused the activity. her eras tour is one of the most expensive ever, costing an estimated

100 million dollars. to italy, and something that shocked locals in calabria. an elephant was spotted stomping down a highway. in this video shared with the bbc, the animal appears to be heading towards a supermarket. local media reports say it escaped a local circus, and has since been returned. that's all for now. thanks very much for watching. hello. today was quite a showery day for some of us, particularly in the north. further showers to come through this evening and overnight. how about sunday? it starts off quite bright in a number of locations but clouds will thicken through the morning, into the afternoon and more persistent rain is on the way, too. here is one weather system ready to come our way. this is the one that we had through the course of sunday and this is what brought showers.

in fact, the showers will continue through the night, broadly speaking, across the northern half of the uk. further east and south, the weather will be drier with some clear spells. early morning temperatures around ten in aberdeen, 13 or 1a in the south of the country. this is the next weather front heading our way. early in the morning, some bright and sunny weather throughout in a number of locations, although the showers continue in the north. but then this more widespread weather front sweeps into ireland, through wales and many parts of england eventually. i think newcastle and hull will hang on to the sunshine the longest in england and also some very decent weather there in northern and eastern scotland. elsewhere, you can see the cloud spreading in, south—westerly wind, a lot of murk and drizzle around the coast, not a very pleasant second half of the day. an increasing breeze, too, and quite a large area of low pressure, elongated, slow moving from west to east and it brings a lot of cloud on monday, too. you can see the weather front is placed across scotland at this

stage, middle of the day, with heavy rain for a time at least in the lowlands. to the south of that, we have got the cloud, showers and occasional sunny spells. temperatures hovering around the high teens or low 20s. august is just around the corner. how about the weather and this jet stream pattern? well, the jet stream is going to be quite strong, close to us and generally south of us through the course of this week, especially the middle of the week onwards. that allows the cooler air to stream in from the north. if we have a look at the pattern through tuesday and into wednesday, a big low pressure parks itself across scandinavia and around it, the winds are coming in from the north. it will be cooler than average. showers are expected, quite widespread showers, even some cracks of thunder from time to time. here is the outlook from sunday into the week ahead. it is looking, surprise, surprise, very unsettled. that is it from me. goodbye.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the european union suspends all security cooperation with niger after the country's army seized power and head of the presidential guards unit general declared himself leader. it comes shortly after the us declared its "unflagging support" for ousted president mohamed bazoum seen as a key western ally.

president zelensky has been visiting �*advanced positions of ukraine�*s special forces near the hotspot of bakhmut as kyiv ramps up its counter offensive against russian troops. the visit comes after a multistory residential building and a security service building were struck in the central city of dnipro on friday. here in the uk up to twenty thousand rail workers in the rmt union are on strike for the second weekend in a row. it�*s part of a long running dispute about pay, jobs and working conditions. hello and welcome to sportsday with me paul scott at the bbc sport centre here is what�*s coming up. end of an era: stuart broad says this ashes series will be his last, as announces his retirement from all forms of cricket. fantastique: france leave it late,

but see off brazil at the women�*s world cup.